Auditory detection of motion velocity in humans: a magnetoencephalographic study

To investigate the cerebral mechanisms of auditory detection of motion velocity in the human brain, neuromagnetic fields elicited by six moving sounds and one stationary sound were investigated with a whole-cortex magnetoencephalography (MEG) system. The stationary sound evoked only one clear response at a latency of 109+/-6 ms (first response, or M100), but the six moving sounds evoked two clear responses: an earlier response at a latency of 116+/-7 ms (M100) and a later response at a latency ranging from 180 to 760 ms (magnetic motion response, or MM). The latency and amplitude of the MM were inversely related to the velocity of the moving sounds (p<0.02). The magnetic source of MM was related to the velocity of the moving sounds (p<0.05). A dynamic neuromagnetic response, MM, was elicited by the moving sounds, which likely encoded the neural processing of auditory detection of motion velocity. A specific neural network that processes the motion velocity in the human brain probably includes the bilateral superior temporal cortices and the brainstem. The left posterior and lateral part of the auditory cortex may play a pivotal role in the auditory detection of motion velocity.